Rivaldo slams van Gaal

Rivaldo never saw eye to eye with van Gaal during the Dutchman's first spell at the club, and on his return to Camp Nou last summer, one of van Gaal's first moves was to offload the Brazilian leading to his free transfer move to Serie A side Milan.

But questioned ahead of Wednesday night's Real Madrid centenary game, Rivaldo pulled no punches in his assessment of van Gaal.

"I love Barcelona because I played there for five seasons, and I'm very sad when I see a club of their stature and with their fans in the lower part of the league table," said the World Cup winner.

"But van Gaal is in the situation he deserves, because in life and not only football, you must always try to be a good person.

"You cannot lie and try to harm other people. What goes around comes around.

"About me for example he said that I was unprofessional and would not give everything for the club."

The 30-year-old added that the Catalan club should look to replace van Gaal if they wanted to get their season back on track.

"In a situation like this (for Barcelona) the solution is to change the manager.

"This will give a lift to both the supporters and the players. Barcelona is a huge club and they should not be in this situation.

"The players are not to blame because they are working very hard, but when things aren't going well it seems that nothing works."